China supporters at the march dressed in coordinated red jackets.
Buenos Aires had braced for potential violence, with 1,500 Coast Guard officers, 1,200 police and 3,000 city workers ready to help keep order.
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"Obviously we can't ignore the thing people are protesting about. It's an issue that must be addressed, but we can't let it drown out this party which is about sports," said tennis star Gabriela Sabatini before she was handed the torch to carry it on the last leg of the Buenos Aires relay.
The torch heads next to Tanzania, where Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai has pulled out of the relay.
Calls have intensified in recent days for world leaders to boycott the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in August.
Beijing Olympics organizing committee chief Liu Qi said on Friday that organisers are working to avoid more chaotic scenes in the remaining legs of the torch relay.
Image: Argentina's former tennis player Gabriela Sabatini carries the flame during the Olympic Torch relay
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